News in brief
Canadian government invests in Quebec cheese company
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada announced Tuesday a federal investment of C$910,355 (US$682,470) to Fromagerie La Station, a small family cheese business in Compton, Québec.
The funding is supported by the Dairy Processing Investment Fund, a C$100m (US$75m), four-year program “designed to help dairy processors modernize their operations to improve their productivity and competitiveness.”
Fromagerie La Station’s expansion and automation project will increase demand for the milk it buys and reduce production costs, making it more competitive in the industry.
The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay, his Parliamentary Secretary, Jean-Claude Poissant (La Prairie), and Minister of International Development and La Francophonie Marie-Claude Bibeau (Compton – Stanstead) announced the grant in a joint statement to help the company “purchase and install robotic equipment to improve the quality of its products and enhance production capacity.”
Fromagerie La Station has ten employees and specializes in Alfred le Fermier, Comtomme, Chemin Hatley and a raclette cheese, all certified organic.
"This project will allow us to extend the ripening time for our certified organic farmhouse cheeses and to continue growing our company. Acquiring the automation system and expanding our ripening rooms will help us meet the growing demand for locally produced ripened cheeses and respond to European competition in this niche market. With this project, we will be better equipped to deliver high-quality products," said Simon-Pierre Bolduc, director general at Fromagerie La Station.
